Carmina Burana and La Bayadere
	Birch North Park Theatre Friday, March 7, 2008 8:00pm Saturday, March 8, 2008 8:00pm Sunday, March 9, 2008 2:30pm Tickets: $29 - $39 - $49 - $59
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Performance Review

What the Critics Say About Carmina Burana

"In the past couple of years this company has shown it has the talent in the principal rank to dance what it will, now it can be said it has the corps the ballet to lay claim to full maturity.  Until that happens no company truly exists.  City Ballet of San Diego truly exists, not only as a collection of individuals, but as a body of dance."

-- Anjuli Bai, ballet.co.uk Dance Critic

"The company fields a stage of exemplary men, but again in Carmina Burana, Taureen Green caught my eye with his sense of musicality.  And here I need to emphasize that all the men are a pleasure to watch; each is a distinct personality - moving with power and conviction."

-- Anjuli Bai, ballet.co.uk Dance Critic

Read Anjuli Bai's complete review

"[T]he 'Kingdom of the Shades' from La Bayadère and a new setting of Carmina Burana presented Sunday at the Birch North Park Theatre were simple, sophisticated and sexy."

-- Kris Eitland, sandiego.com Dance Critic

"[Taurean] Green embodied the lovesick Solar, and [Janica] Smith portrayed a conflicted Nikiya.  Her deathly expressions were captivating and drew you into the world beyond.  Both Green and Smith were on their game Sunday, particularly in lifts and spins that were executed with confident ease.  The couple was also tantalizing in the iconic Scarf Pas de Deux, where they didn't quite touch and danced at a distance.  The fascination was the illusion that Green could support Smith with only a scarf."

-- Kris Eitland, sandiego.com Dance Critic

Read Kris Eitland's complete review

Program

Approximate Run Time:  2 hours with one 15-minute intermission

Carmina Burana

This audience favorite is a theatrical piece based on poems discovered in the library of an ancient Bavarian monastery.  The thirteenth century poems and songs composed by minstrels and monks who had freed themselves of monastic discipline were set to music by Carl Orff.  The ballet is not a retelling of the poems, but rather an abstract depiction.

Music: Carl Orff

Choreography: Elizabeth Wistrich

Year Choreographed: 1984

Costume Design: David Heuvel

Sets: Stephen Judson

Lighting Design: Stephen Judson

Kingdom of the Shades from La Bayadère

Descend into Petipa's Kingdom of the Shades where Prince Solor, a warrior, dreams of eternal love with his murdered lover Nikaya, a temple dancer.

Music: Leon Minkus

Choreography: Marius Petipa

Year Choreographed: 1877

Costume Design: Gillian Metchalf

Lighting Design: Stephen Judson

Programming, musical selections and artists are subject to change